Truck drivers cover insane distances per day to pick up and deliver freight all over the country. It’s what keeps the machine of the United States’ economy running smoothly. When you go to the grocery store to pick up supplies or get a new shoe from your favorite brand, somebody somewhere traveled alone for hours in his/her truck to get those things to you. The sacrifice of truckers is lost to most people who are not familiar with the industry, but it’s hard to appreciate something you are not aware of. In this post, we talk about the grueling shifts truckers endure every day to ensure you never run out of essential supplies.
So how far do truckers drive in a day? Truckers are required to drive a maximum of 11 hours per day, according to the Hours of Service regulations of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. All things equal, a trucker will drive about 55 to 60 miles per hour. At the end of the 11-hour driving shift, this amounts to 605 to 650 miles per day. However, weather, traffic, police checkpoints, and the peculiarities of each route may affect a driver’s mileage.
Truck drivers are required under law to work for a maximum of 14-hours per day. They must spend the remaining 10 consecutive hours off work. However, looking for a safe parking space, loading and unloading, eating, shower time and other miscellaneous activities may reduce sleep time to only 4-5 hours. Below is a comprehensive breakdown of truckers’ Hours of Service.
The 14-Hour Driving Window
While this limit is not based on a 24-hour period, it is the time a driver can actually work in a day. Once a driver has been off duty for 10 consecutive hours, the law allows him/her to work for the next 14 consecutive hours. In those 14 hours, drivers can spend only 11 hours driving. Regardless of whether you took time off during your 14-consecutive hour duty period, you must stop driving when you clock 11 hours on the wheels.
Truckers of old used to have two paper logs. One log was the real one, and the other was a fake they showed law enforcement. Truckers do this to move as fast as they could so to increase home time and make more money. Nowadays, electronic logs count the miles and there is no way you can trick or tweak the system.
To avoid being stranded in no-man’s-land, truckers have to plan their journey to cover enough ground each day and still have time to get a safe parking spot at truck stops.
The 11-Hour Driving Limit
According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, a driver may drive only 11 hours during the 14-consecutive-hour duty period. However, the regulation does not stop there. If you have spent over 8 hours after your last off-duty or a minimum of 30 minutes sleeper berth period, you are not permitted to drive. When your 11-hour driving period is complete, you have to stop driving. The remaining 3 hours of your 14-consecutive-hour duty period may be used to do whatever you like, but it will most likely be used for work.
30-Minute Break
As said above, drivers are expected to take at least a 30 minutes break during the 14-consecutive-hour duty period. This can be taken after 8 consecutive hours on duty. It can also be taken after 3 hours on duty. The 30 minute break can be for sleep, eating, shower, or any other activity the trucker wants to spend the time on before continuing the journey.
When Can Truckers Drive For More Than 11 Hours?
A lot of circumstances can force truckers to drive for over 11 hours in one shift including
- If the truck driver has to slow down because of traffic, the law allows the trucker to complete what was lost and report it in the log. This will not amount to an offense and the driver and the company won’t be penalized.
- : An accident may prevent a trucker from completing the journey on schedule.
- : In this situation, the driver may need to tow the truck, forcing him/her to move slower than the normal speed the truck needs to cover enough ground. If a truck is hauling a perishable cargo, it becomes even more expedient to continue the journey to avoid losses for all parties.
- : For safety reasons, truck drivers need to slow down during adverse weather, and this reduces their mileage. To cover up for lost time, they can drive for over 11 hours.
Weekly Limit
The FMCSA also stipulates a weekly limit for truckers called the 60/70-Hour duty limit. This limit is actually based on a 7-day or 8-day period according to the time specified by carriers as their start period.
According to this limit, truckers cannot be on duty for over 60 hours in a 7-day period or 70 hours in an 8-day period. The implication is that a trucker can only complete 60 hours on duty for 7 consecutive days and 70 hours on duty for 8 consecutive days.
Once you clock 60 or 70 hours, you must take 34 consecutive hours off duty before you can drive a commercial vehicle. This off duty period is called the 34-hour restart as it allows you to set the duty period to zero for a new calculation. However, during the restart period, truckers can engage in non-driving tasks such as paperwork, loading and unloading freight among others.
Note than the 34-hour restart is not mandatory but most companies enforce it to reduce fatigue among truckers.
How Much Time Do Truckers Spend on the Road?
This also depends on the truck driving job. OTR drivers spend the longest time on the road. Most OTR truckers spend over 300 days on duty, reducing their home time and causing a lot of pain for their families.
Local truckers get to go home every night although they may have little time for the family. However, it is possible to do night shifts so you can spend your days with your loved ones as a local truck driver. Regional and line haul truckers also enjoy more home time with many drivers spending the weekend at home.
The main reason people choose OTR is because it pays more and offers an opportunity to see the country. But a trucker’s life is one of solitude. If you are not a fan of loneliness, it may not be the best job for you.
How Many Hours Does the Average Person Drive in a Week?
Most people take pride in their cars, but only a few get their money’s worth out of these expensive automobiles. Data from the U.S. Department of Transportation shows that the average American driver drives for 13,474 miles per year. This comes to a little over 1,000 miles each month and about 250 miles per week. However, most truckers cover an average of 2500 miles per week, 10 times what the average car-driving American puts on the odometer.
Industry statistics show that men drive more miles than women. Also, the data show that American drivers are getting older. Teenagers are finding it more difficult to get their license before age 19, and the growing teenage unemployment makes driving expensive.
The same problem is afflicting the trucking industry. Young drivers find the hectic life of truckers difficult in the age of social media. The more experienced older drivers are few and in high demand.
The irony of the situation is that average drivers who almost never drive over 14,000 miles each year are unappreciative of truckers who live their lives on the road so others don’t have to drive the long distances.
How Many Miles Can a Team Drive in One Day?
It is possible for team drivers to cover 1000 miles or more per day. There are team drivers who drive 5000 to 6000 miles per week, but this is not consistent in most cases. A lot of variables can reduce your progress. Teams can cover 1.5 the amount of distance a solo driver can put on the vehicle in a day. But loading and unloading, pit stops, traffic, city driving, adverse weather and other factors may slow you down.
Many people, especially partners consider team driving as a viable option to eliminate loneliness, get better pay and make more home time. But these potential benefits depend on how fast your team can complete its runs. While the aim of a driving team is to keep the truck on the road constantly, this is almost impossible.
Some drivers will never be involved in team driving because they believe it slows them down. And this may be true as one driver gets more mileage than the other in a team. However, being a team driver allows you to complete your runs faster, complete more miles, and get higher pay. Plus, you get more home time too.
